SIDS-FOCUSED An AnAlySIS OF ChAllEngES AnD OppOrtUnItIES ppt

SIDS-FOCUSED
AN ANALYSIS OF CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
UNDESA
SIDSFOCUSED GREEN ECONOMY: AN ANALYSIS OF CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Synthesis Report
PARTICIPATING INSTITUTIONS
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
UNEP coordinates United Nations environmental activities, assisting developing countries in implementing
environmentally sound policies and practices. It was founded as a result of the United Nations Conference on the
Human Environment in June 1972. Its mission is to provide leadership and encourage partnership in caring for
the environment by inspiring, informing and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without
compromising that of future generations.
The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Aairs (DESA)
DESA and its predecessors have helped countries around the world meet their economic, social and environmental
challenges for more than 50 years. DESA’s mission - to promote development for all - reects a fundamental concern
for equity and equality in countries large and small, developed and developing.
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
Achieving food security for all - to make sure people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead
active, healthy lives – is at the core of all FAO activities, including for sheries and aquaculture. FAO’s mandate is
to raise levels of nutrition, improve agricultural productivity, better the lives of rural populations and contribute
to the growth of the world economy. Fisheries and aquaculture have the capacity – if supported and developed
responsibly – to contribute signicantly to improving the well-being of poor and disadvantaged communities.
The vision of FAO for these sectors is a world in which responsible and sustainable use of sheries and aquaculture
resources makes an appreciable contribution to human well-being, food security and poverty alleviation. The FAO
Fisheries and Aquaculture Department, in particular, aims to strengthen global governance and the managerial and
technical capacities of members and to lead consensus-building towards improved conservation and utilisation of
aquatic resources.
© United Nations Environment Programme
ISBN: 978-82-7701-105-9
Citation
UNEP, UN DESA and FAO, 2012, SIDS-FOCUSED Green Economy: An Analysis of Challenges and Opportunities

www.unep.org/greeneconomy and www.unep.org/regionalseas
Layout by UNEP/GRID-Arendal, www.grida.no
UNEP promote
environmentally sound practices
globally and in our own activities. This
publication is printed on fully recycled paper,
FSC certied, post-consumer waste and chlorine-
free. Inks are vegetable-based and coatings are water-
based. Our distribution policy aims to reduce
our carbon footprint.
SIDSFOCUSED GREEN ECONOMY: AN ANALYSIS OF CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Synthesis Report
3
FOREWORD
Small Island Developing States (SIDS) have
placed sustainable development prominently
on their agenda for twenty years, since the 1992
Earth Summit recognised the special case of SIDS.
The concept of the Green Economy is a relatively
new idea, which has been selected as one of the
prominent themes of the Rio+20 Conference.
For SIDS like other developing countries, the
concept needs to be interpreted according
to their individual sustainable development
priorities and national economic and social
conditions.
At the same time, the development and
implementation of a Green Economy strategy
would have to be consistent with the Barbados
Programme of Action and the Mauritius Strategy

of Implementation that have clearly outlined
the way forward in pursuit of sustainable
development for SIDS. The Rio+20 Conference
provides an opportunity in particular for SIDS,
to start taking advantage of what a Green
Economy approach might oer to them.
This present synthesis publication, “SIDS-
Focused Green Economy: An Analysis of
Challenges and Opportunities”, jointly
prepared by UNDESA and UNEP, and to which
FAO, the GCIAR-Worldsh Center and UNEP/
GRID-Arendal have contributed, seeks to
highlight important issues in selected sectors
of particular relevance to SIDS with respect to
the Green Economy, and provides a number of
SIDS-focused policy recommendations in the
respective sectors.
In the preparations for Rio+20, Member States,
in conjunction with other stakeholders, have
identied several focus areas for priority
attention for SIDS. These are, inter alia: small-
scale Fisheries and Aquaculture, Tourism, Water,
Energy, and Waste, which are included in this
report. It is clear to all that eorts must be made
to create the necessary enabling environment
towards a more eective development pathway.
A green economy is such an approach, and a
means to achieving sustainable development.
It provides a platform for guiding discussion
towards implementation in priority areas and

cross-cutting issues in the hope of strong and
consolidated action from all Member States.
This Synthesis Report intends to help
further engage SIDS in particular, but entire
international community as a whole, to review
the proposals. It is hoped, that this Report will
assist in stimulating more policy deliberations
on green economy, and pursuing the strategies
that best suit the needs of countries.
DSD-UNDESAUNEP
SIDSFOCUSED GREEN ECONOMY: AN ANALYSIS OF CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Synthesis Report
4
UN Photo/Martine Perret
SIDSFOCUSED GREEN ECONOMY: AN ANALYSIS OF CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Synthesis Report
5
Foreword
Introduction
Small-Scale Fisheries and Aquaculture
Tourism
Water
Energy
Waste
Conclusions
Rio + 20
Acknowledgements
3
6
8

11
14
17
20
22
24
27
CONTENTS
UN Photo/Martine Perret
SIDSFOCUSED GREEN ECONOMY: AN ANALYSIS OF CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Synthesis Report
6
Small island developing states (SIDS)
1
are a
group of countries that “share similar sustainable
development challenges, including small
population, limited resources, susceptibility to
natural disasters, vulnerability to external shocks
and excessive dependence on international
trade. Their growth and development is often
further stymied by high transportation and
communication costs, disproportionately
expensive public administration and infrastructure
due to their small size, and little to no opportunity
to create economies of scale”
2
.
The Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in
1992 marked the rst time that the special

characteristics of SIDS were paid signicant
attention and were recognised as a distinct
group. In 1994, the rst Global Conference
on the Sustainable Development of SIDS was
held in Barbados, under the auspices of the
United Nations. It resulted in the adoption of
the Barbados Programme of Action (BPOA),
which recognised the unique and particular
vulnerabilities of SIDS and identied the
sustainable development challenges SIDS
face. The BPOA explicitly identied key areas
requiring urgent action.
In 2005, the high-level international meeting in
Mauritius reviewed the implementation of the
BPOA and adopted the Mauritius Strategy for
the further implementation of the BPOA, which
underscores the need to, inter alia, mobilize
domestic resources, attract international
ows, and promote international trade as an
engine for development. It also stresses the
need to enhance coherence and governance
of the international monetary, nancial and
trading systems in order to complement SIDS’
development plans.
INTRODUCTION
5 000
1 000
500
10 000
Population

Thousands inhabitants
AIMS
The Caribbean
The Pacific
Note: AIMS is Africa, Indian Ocean,
Mediterranean and Yellow Sea SIDS
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.7 0.90.6 0.8 1.0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Singapore
Bahrain
Trinidad and
Tobago
Mauritius
Jamaica
Belize
Fiji
Tonga
Cape
Verde
Solomon
Islands
Sao Tome
and Principe
Papua

New Guinea
Comoros
A great socio economic diversity for Small Island Developing States
Haiti
Guinea-Bissau
GDP Per Capita, PPP 2008
Thousands US Dollars
Human Development Index
Timor-Leste
Guyana
Micronesia
Maldives
Suriname
Dominican
Republic
Barbados
Source: UNDP, 2011
1
Recognised as three regions: the Caribbean, the Pacic and the Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean and South China Seas (AIMS).
2
UN DESA. 2007. Who are the SIDS? www.un.org/esa/sustdev/sids/sidslist.htm
SIDSFOCUSED GREEN ECONOMY: AN ANALYSIS OF CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Synthesis Report
7
In 2012, on the 20
th
anniversary of the Earth
Summit, world leaders and Heads of States
will again arm political commitment to
sustainable development

3
. The Conference
will have as its theme, “a green economy in the
context of sustainable development and poverty
eradication and, the institutional framework for
sustainable development”
4
. Coming at a time
in which nancial markets are still recovering
from a global economic crisis and when the
economies of SIDS have been severely impacted
by external factors originating in developed
countries, the “green economy” has stirred a
great deal of interest regarding its possibilities
as a means of alleviating this crisis.
A green economy “is one that results in
improved human well-being and social equity,
while signicantly reducing environmental
risks and ecological scarcities”
5
. This
denition is amplied further to mean an
economy that is “low carbon, resource ecient
and socially inclusive
6
. It is also envisaged
that in a green economy “growth in income and
employment will be driven by public and private
investments that reduce carbon emissions and
pollution, enhance energy and resource efficiency,

and prevent the loss of biodiversity and
ecosystem services”.
Individual SIDS have and are interpreting
the green economy concept according
to their individual sustainable development
priorities and national economic and
social conditions.
While there is no consensus on the concept of a
green economy for SIDS, transitioning to a low-
carbon economy is directly linked to the critical
importance placed on all aspects of sustainable
development eorts of SIDS.
The movement towards a green economy
is seen as a critical pathway to achieving
sustainable development. More importantly,
it is an opportunity for investments in green
industries, job creation and improvements
in human welfare. However, in order to
achieve those objectives, it is vital that the right
climate or enabling conditions are provided
to generate and stimulate both public and
private sector investments that incorporate
broader environmental and social criteria. From
this perspective, the overall goals of a green
economy are supportive of the sustainable
development concept, which had as its
main objectives: development and poverty
eradication, predicated on sustainable use of
environmental resources.
In this Synthesis Report, ve development

sectors for SIDS - small-scale sheries and
aquaculture, water, tourism, energy and solid
waste - are analysed in an attempt to show
how a transition to a green economy can
assist in addressing some of the most critical
challenges SIDS face while stimulating
economic development, maintaining
economic stability, facilitating job creation
while conserving resources. These sectors are
not only inter-related, but also reect the SIDS’
challenges as they relate to land and water
scarcity, dependence on imported energy, high
costs associated with waste management and
the vulnerability and fragility of the tourism
sector. This Synthesis Report will seek to
show how a transition to a green economy
can contribute to advancing sustainable
development in SIDS.
0.30.4 0.50.6 0.7
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Human Development Index
GDP per capita
Footprint and biocapacity
Global hectares per capita

Thousands 2008 PPP US Dollars
Biocapacity
Footprint
Note:
1. A global hectare is a productivity
weighted area used to report both the
biocapacity of the earth, and the demand
on biocapacity (the Ecological Footprint).
The global hectare is normalized to the
area-weighted average productivity of
biologically productive land and water in
a given year.
2. The chart shows only those countries
for which data were available
4.3
2.0
1.0
0.3
Source: UNPD online database, 2001; Global Footprint Network, online database, 2010.
Mauritius
Trinidad and
Tobago
Papua
New Guinea
Ecological footprint and the
wealth of SIDS
Jamaica
Dominican
Republic
Guinea-Bissau

Haiti
Timor-Leste
3
UN General Assembly. 2009. Resolution A/RES/64/236. www.uncsd2012.org/.
4
UN General Assembly. 2009. Resolution A/RES/64/236. www.uncsd2012.org/.

5
UNEP. 2010. Green Economy. Developing Countries Success Stories. www.unep.org/greeneconomy.

6
UNEP. 2011. Towards a Green Economy: Pathways to Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication. www.unep.org/greeneconomy.
UNEP denes a green economy as
one that results “in improved human
well-being and social equity while
significantly reducing environmental
risks and ecological scarcities”
Source: UNEP, 2011
SIDSFOCUSED GREEN ECONOMY: AN ANALYSIS OF CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Synthesis Report
8
The future of SIDS lies in the oceans – this
often-quoted statement is conrmed when
the values of ecosystem services provided by
oceans to these island states are explored.
Though they are small, these nations hold
jurisdictions over coastal waters and open
seas that are many times larger than their
landmasses. A ‘green economy’ sheries and
aquaculture sector is one that is ecologically

sustainable, provides a higher level of economic
goods and services at lower environmental
costs and equitably distributes those benets.
One of the closest connections between
humanity and the oceans is found among
those who harvest the seas. In SIDS, oceans
represent an integral component of life, as it is
part of their cultural practices, social fabric, food
security and economy, particularly through
sheries. Fishing both as a livelihood and as a
provider of essential food, is vitally dependent
on healthy marine ecosystems. SIDS marine
ecosystems face the vast array of both immediate
and long-term threats that are found throughout
the world’s oceans. However, the impact on coral
reefs as essential sh habitat from rising seawater
temperature, ocean acidication and increased
storms is a particular challenge.
Globally, 180 million people are engaged in
sheries and aquaculture activities, which
sustain over 0.5 billion people, while small-
scale sheries employ close to 110 million
people
7
. Many small-scale operators are self-
employed and engaged in both subsistence
and commercial activities
8
. Aggregate capture
sheries play a major role in many national

economies, especially in the Pacic SIDS,
where capture sheries can contribute as
much as 10% of GDP
9
. Fish consumption
here accounts for 50-90% of animal protein
in the diet of coastal communities while
national sh consumption can be as much
as 3-4 times higher than the global average
per capita
10
.
Aquaculture is one of the fastest-growing
animal-food production sectors. This
type of farming provides an opportunity
for countries to produce sh protein for
consumption, supplementing catches.
Small-scale aquaculture is often based around
family labour, and ponds or farms are housed
family land-holdings. There are also large
commercial-based operations that showcase
substantial technological, labour and capital
inputs. The types of aquaculture products vary
Small-SCalE
FIShERIES aND
aqUaCUlTURE
7. FAO. 2010. The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture and FAO. 2011. Report on the 29th Session of the Committee on Fisheries. Report No. 973.
8. FAO. 2011. Report on the 29th Session of the Committee on Fisheries. Report No. 973.
9. Gillett, R. 2011. Fisheries of the Pacific Islands: Regional and National Information. Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations,
Regional Oce for Asia and the Pacic.

10. Bell J.D., M. Kronen, A. Vunisea, W.J. Nash, G. Keeble, A. Demmke, S. Pontifex, and S. Andréfouët. 2009. Planning the Use of Fish for Food Security in
the Pacific. Marine Policy, 33(1): 64–76.
SIDSFOCUSED GREEN ECONOMY: AN ANALYSIS OF CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Synthesis Report
9
their continued and enhanced contribution
to food security, poverty alleviation and
protection of economic, social and cultural
rights. Cross-sectoral integration and spatial
planning should be critical elements in an
overall application of the Ecosystem Approach
to Fisheries and Aquaculture Management.
Fair and responsible tenure systems to turn
resource users into resource stewards need
to be established through appropriate legal
frameworks, emphasising the opportunities
and traditions of community-based
management. Regulation should focus on the
creation of appropriate incentive systems and
decentralised, easily enforceable regulations. In
small-scale coastal sheries, resource users are
to be given preference to engage monitoring,
control and surveillance measures.
Upfront costs of a transition to sustainable
and equitable management regimes can be
recovered by the resource rent from better
managed, more ecient and environment
friendly sheries. In the short term, a transition
will most likely require some form of income
support to reduce shing capacity, support re-

qualication initiatives and investments in new
techniques and technical expertise. Sources
of funds include access agreements to foreign
eets, and increasing commodity value through
certication schemes (including ornamental
sh). Donor funding possibilities should
be explored.
Achieving sustainability would require
balancing the competing ecosystem services
provided by oceans, and adopting an
integrated approach for greening the sector.
among SIDS. For example, in the Caribbean, it is
generally limited to freshwater tilapia, while in
the Pacic SIDS, a number of products ranging
from shrimp and sh to oysters and pearls
are produced. Even though aquaculture lags
behind traditional methods of sh production,
it can prove to be sustainable and provide green
jobs in SIDS economies.
Pollution, habitat loss and alteration,
destructive harvesting methods, over-
exploitation, invasive alien species,
oceanic acidication, natural disasters and
climate change are some of the natural and
anthropogenic factors threatening sheries
in SIDS. Amid those challenges, the sheries
sector is expected to meet the demands
of a growing population and increasing
requirements for sh protein. The eects of
climate change are also anticipated to indirectly

aect sheries, as changing water temperature
impact negatively on coral reefs and mangroves
that function as nurseries, habitats and foraging
grounds for sh. Also associated with changing
weather patterns, are shifts in migratory patterns
of sh species, aecting their availability during
dierent periods of the year.
Enabling Environment for Transition to a
Green Economy
A ‘green economy’ shery sector is one that
is ecologically sustainable, provides a higher
level of economic goods and services at
lower environmental costs and equitably
distributes those benets. The harmonious
and balanced development of small-scale
shing communities with other coastal
developments will be critical in assuring
0
2
10
4
6
8
12
14
18
16
Fiji
Nauru
Kiribati

Tuvalu
Solomon
Islands
Samoa
Tonga
Niue
Vanuatu
China
Palau
Fishery generated GDP on total GDP (2006)
Percentage
1
1
1
2
3
Source: FAO, Fisheries of the Pacific Islands, 2011.
Notes:
1. Data for 2007
2. Data for 2002
3. Data for 2008
Papua
New Guinea
The importance of fish for selected SIDS
SIDSFOCUSED GREEN ECONOMY: AN ANALYSIS OF CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Synthesis Report
10
Source: World Bank - FAO – WorldFish Centre, The Hidden Harvests, 2010.
10
20

30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
Millions
Number of people employed in fishery, world estimate
Small-scale
Post-harvest worker
Fishermen
Large scale
Small-scale fishery, large employment
Transitioning to a green economy will
require introducing specic measures
for policy planning and institutional
reform, sustainable nancing, investment
in technology and building awareness.
The existing FAO Code of Conduct for
Responsible Fisheries and its related
international agreements provide a strong
framework for the sector, but will need
resources and incentives for implementation
at national and regional levels. Initial
upfront costs can be covered by resource
rent gained from foreign eets engaged

in oshore shing. The development and
investment in ‘green’ technologies such as
ecient shing methods, energy-ecient
refrigeration technologies and improved
waste management in sh handling and
processing also need to be supported. In
the aquaculture sector, preference should
be given to low-impact operations complying
with internationally recognised certication
standards with regards to feeds, water
quality and coastal habitat degradation
in particular, to ensure the sector’s rapid
development contributes to environmentally
sustainable growth.
Building industry and consumer awareness
will support sustainable sheries and
aquaculture farms that provide fair and
equitable benets to those employed in the
sector and their communities.
SIDSFOCUSED GREEN ECONOMY: AN ANALYSIS OF CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Synthesis Report
11
Tourism is one of the world’s largest business
sectors, growing by a staggering 90% from
1995 to 2010. It is responsible for over
250 million jobs or more than 8% of total
employment and accounts for over 9% of the
world’s GDP
11
. This sector involves large global

movement of people annually, and the supply
chain extends from the cities of the north to
remote islands.
Tourism is a vital sector of the economies
of most SIDS. For more than half of the
SIDS, it is their largest source of foreign
exchange. The social, economic and
environmental well-being of many SIDS is tied
to this sector
12
. Tourism receipts represent
more than 30% of their total exports; in
comparison, the average for the world is just
over 5%
13
.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Share of tourism on total GDP
Percentage
Source: UN-Data, The World Bank, online statistical databases.
Note:
The chart shows only those countries
for which data were available
Tourism in SIDS

Haiti
São Tomé
and Principe
Guyana
Trinidad
and Tobago
Dominican
Republic
Singapore
Tonga
Jamaica
Fiji
St. Vincent and
the Grenadines
Note: figures refer to most recent
year available (2007 or 2008)
Dominica
Grenada
Cape
Verde
Belize
St. Kitts
and Nevis
St. Lucia
The
Bahamas
Mauritius
Barbados
Antigua
and Barbuda

Seychelles
Maldives
Suriname
Population
Tourists
8 700
2 000
500
50
Annual tourist arrivals

11
UNEP. 2011. Keeping Track of Our Changing Environment: From Rio to Rio+20.
12
UNDESA.2010. Trends in Sustainable Development: Small Island Developing States (SIDS). New York, United Nations.
13
Based on World Bank data, 2011.
TOURISm
SIDSFOCUSED GREEN ECONOMY: AN ANALYSIS OF CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Synthesis Report
12
Tourists visit SIDS because of the reefs,
beaches and unique cultures and
ecosystems. Sustaining a viable tourism
sector is dependent on maintaining these
assets. Coral reefs play a substantial role in
maintaining marine and coastal ecosystems,
functioning as habitats for sheries, while
providing valuable coastal protection, beach
sand and building materials. Reefs form the

backbone of both the tourism and sheries
sectors. Though the tourism industry in SIDS is
mainly driven by the private sector, most of the
key attraction assets are public. The challenge
for states is to integrate many discrete
private enterprises to conserve and use these
assets sustainably.
The tourism industry is linked to the energy
and water sectors, through its energy-
intensiveness and the demand for clean
potable water for tourists and water-based
tourism activities. The tourism industry is a
major consumer of both energy and water due
to the large number of persons transported
and the huge need for water to meet the needs
of visitors. Given that most SIDS import their
energy supplies and face various challenges
with regard to water, investment in greening
tourism is vital to reducing additional burdens
placed on inter-related sectors.
14
UNFCCC. 2005. Climate Change, Small Island Developing States. www.unfccc.int.
15
O’Farrell, S. & Day, O. 2005. Report on the 2005 Mass Coral Bleaching Event in Tobago: Part 1. Results from Phase 1 Survey. Buccoo Reef Trust and
Coral Cay Conservation in collaboration with the Tobago House of Assembly and the Travel Foundation. www.buccooreeftrust.org.
Climate change presents one of the most
signicant challenges to the sector. Rising
sea levels have can cause loss of land along
coastlines of low-lying islands, disrupting
economies and livelihoods. For example,

a 50-centimeter rise in sea level will result in
Grenada losing 60% of its beaches, while a
1-metre rise would inundate the Maldives.
Climate change may cause coral bleaching to
become an annual occurrence causing further
losses in revenue. Dominica has reported
that 50% of its corals are bleached
14
, and coral
bleaching in Tobago aected an average of 66%
of its hard corals
15
in 2005 alone.
Enabling Environment for Transition to a
Green Economy
The tourism industry should be one of
the lead industries in the promotion of
green initiatives, being both an industry
dependent on natural resources and a major
contributor to employment and economic
growth. Greening the sector will involve the
promotion of principles and initiatives that
can be sustained within social, economic,
cultural and environmental contexts as the
economic benets derived can be used to
address poverty alleviation. However, if poorly
managed gender disparities, cultural and
SIDSFOCUSED GREEN ECONOMY: AN ANALYSIS OF CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Synthesis Report
13

16
UNEP. 2005. Atlantic and Indian Oceans Environment Outlook. Special Edition for the Mauritius International Meeting for the 10-year Review of
the Barbados Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States.
17
UNEP. 2011. Towards a Green Economy: Pathways to Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication. www.unep.org/greeneconomy.
environmental degradation and skewed benet
sharing of wealth can occur
16
.
Greening tourism is more than promoting
ecotourism. Rather, it requires a shift
across the entire industry pertaining to the
implementation of policies, practices and
programmes that embrace sustainability,
focusing on:
• conservation of natural resources,
maintaining the resource base and
protecting biodiversity and ecosystems;
• theuseofrenewablesourcesofenergy;
• reductionofwaterconsumption;
• maintenance of culture, traditions and
heritage and the promotion of cultural
tolerance and respect; and
• generationofincomeforlocalcommunities;
and the alleviation of poverty in
communities
17
.
For SIDS to derive the greatest possible benet
from the greening of their economies, they

will have to adopt comprehensive national
tourism plans that are fully integrated with
overall national development. Only through
such processes will concepts and planning tools
such as setbacks, disaster risk management and
strategic environmental assessments become
mainstreamed in the development and approval
stages of governance. Policies and regulatory
frameworks that account for the benets of
environmental resource as well as the costs
their conservation and managing can become
important catalysts for the adoption of more
environmentally sound practices by the sector.
Sharing of successful approaches among
SIDS who experience many of the same
challenges and obstacles will be important.
They can also be valuable partners in
building capacities. The bulk of tourism in
most SIDS is carried out by small and medium
enterprises who could contribute more to
Green Economic growth if provided with better
access to information, capacity and technology.
Better organisation of tourism in each SIDS,
provision of technical support and information
and collaboration among tourism sector
enterprises and government will be essential in
the transition to a green economy.
Fruitful relations with specic chains or
operators can be powerful avenues for local and
national implementation of greening tourism

and related capacity building. For tourism,
foreign investors often have to meet nancing
requirements such as environmental audits
or social impact assessments from banks and
insurance companies – despite these valid
demands, ways need to be found to make them
become strong partners in supporting SIDS
Green Economy.
SIDS cooperation at a regional and global
scale to develop shared standards for
tourism development is a powerful approach
to achieve the greatest societal benets from
cooperation with the private sector.
SIDSFOCUSED GREEN ECONOMY: AN ANALYSIS OF CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Synthesis Report
14
18
Whilst agriculture is not covered as an individual section, this sector remains important for SIDS’ economies and it is important for them to
improve food security through productivity and adaptability to climate change.
19
UNEP. 2005. Pacific Environment Outlook. Special Edition for the Mauritius International Meeting for the 10-year Review of the Barbados Programme
of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States. www.unep.org.
20
UNEP. 2005. Atlantic and Indian Oceans Environment Outlook. Special Edition for the Mauritius International Meeting for the 10-year Review of the
Barbados Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States. www.unep.org.
21
UNEP. 2005. Caribbean Environment Outlook. Special Edition for the Mauritius International Meeting for the 10-year Review of the Barbados
Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States. www.unep.org.
Water plays a critical role in supporting
economic development, public health and

environmental protection. Greening the
water sector can be a win-win situation where
standards of health and livelihood of citizens
are improved, the environment is protected
and economic activity is increased. The sector
is closely tied to others such as tourism, waste
(wastewater pollution), energy (distribution,
hydropower and supplies for cooling) and
sheries (reected by the health of inland and
coastal sheries, a direct result of water quality).
Agriculture is also an important industry in some
SIDS (e.g. sugar cane) and is often constrained
by access to water
18
. The availability of clean
potable water has signicant eects on the
health of population.
SIDS, though surrounded by water, grapple
with limited potable water supplies,
poor potable water quality, sanitisation
and inecient distribution systems. The
connectivity of the dierent components
of the water cycle is also important, as
SIDS Group Water Resource Issues
Pacic
19
• absenceofreliablegroundwaterlenses
• pollutedgroundwatersuppliesonlargeratolls
• masssedimentationcausedbyuncheckedwatersheddevelopments
• poorsanitisation

• variablerainfallpatterns
• salinisation
• inecientdistributionnetworks
AIMS
20
• variable precipitation
• high runo exacerbated by the steepness of the slopes in catchment areas
• high soil porosity
• competing demands from tourism, industrial sectors and population growth
• demands caused by population growth
Caribbean
21
• highly seasonal rainfall
• deforestation
• conicting land use activities within watersheds
• reduced absorption capacities of soil due to erosion
• inecient distribution networks
• demands by rapid population growth and competing economic sectors
Challenges Faced by Specic SIDS Groups
WaTER
SIDSFOCUSED GREEN ECONOMY: AN ANALYSIS OF CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Synthesis Report
15
shortages along one point aect another.
While there are similarities between the
three groups of SIDS, they also face some
specic issues:
For SIDS, being able to meet the growing
demands for access to clean potable water
is one of the greatest challenges faced by

this sector. According to the World Health
Organisation (WHO), diarrheal disease accounts
for 1.8 million deaths every year
22
. It was
estimated that 88% of that burden is attributable
to unsafe water supply, sanitation and hygiene,
and is mostly concentrated in children in
developing countries. In Kiribati for example,
1 in every 4 people visit a clinic because of
diarrhoea or dysentery annually
23
.
Climate change poses a signicant challenge
to the management of water in SIDS. The
islands’ dependency on rainfall leaves them
vulnerable to both long-term and short-term
changes in rainfall patterns. The eects of
climate change will be intensied by growing
demands for water as populations grow and
increase in the levels of pollution while causing
infections by the use of unsanitary water. It is
predicted that there would be a 10% reduction
in average annual rainfall by 2050. Freshwater
lenses on atoll islands are anticipated to diminish
by as much 29-65%, while water tables may
move closer to the surface resulting in increased
rates of evapo-transpiration
24
.

Signicant pressure is placed on existing
freshwater systems in SIDS by urbanisation,
unsustainable agricultural practices,
the demands of tourism, mining and
deforestation. These pressures exacerbate
environmental conditions and ultimately aect
the fragile economies of these islands.
Individual countries have initiated various
programs to ensure better management
of their water resources. Some of these
projects include Integrated Water Resource
Management (IWRM)
25
/ Integrating
Watershed and Coastal Areas Management
(IWCAM)
26
programmes, national water
planning initiatives
27
and rural/ community
based projects which have served to raise
awareness of the importance of eective
Bahamas 60
Maldives 100
Singapore 131
Barbados 314
St. Kittis and Nevis 492
Antigua and Barbuda,
Cape Verde 610

Scarcity 1 000
Haiti 1338
Stress 1 700
1 910 Comoros
Source: The World Bank, statistical database, 2011.
2 104 Dominican Repubblic
2 182 Mauritius
2 891 Trinidad and Tobago
3 402 Cuba
3 514 Jamaica
WATER ABUNDANCE
WATER STRESS AND SCARCITY
SIDS freshwater availability
Renewable internal freshwater resources per capita
Cubic meters, 2007
22
Waterborne diseases, caused by pathogenic microorganisms in contaminated freshwater, result from poor water quality. These diseases
include diarrhoea, dysentery and typhoid.
23
This is based on 2005 data.
25
Mimura, N., L. Nurse, R.F. McLean, J. Agard, L. Briguglio, P. Lefale, R. Payet & G. Sem. 2007. Small Islands. Climate Change 2007: Impacts,
Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change. M.L. Parry, O.F. Canziani, J.P. Palutikof, P.J. van der Linden & C.E. Hanson, Eds., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 687-716.
26
The GEF Pacic IWRM Project is co-implemented by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP), and executed by the Pacic Islands Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC) in cooperation with 14 Pacic Island
countries. The project is developing “Ridge to Reef – Community to Catchment” IWRM in the participating countries.
27
The GEF-IWCAM Project is co-implemented by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Development

Programme (UNDP), and co-executed by the Secretariat of the Cartagena Convention, UNEP Caribbean Regional Coordinating Unit (UNEP-
CAR/RCU) and CEHI.
SIDSFOCUSED GREEN ECONOMY: AN ANALYSIS OF CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Synthesis Report
16
water use. Watershed interventions may
include reforestation, improved wastewater
treatment systems, fencing of riparian areas to
restrict livestock access, improved or restricted
fertiliser and pesticide application practices,
installation of storm water ltering devices and
improved building practices to prevent erosion
during construction. Further, downstream
improvements to water supply and sewerage
systems, alternative water source development
and increased eciency of usage can be
implemented. Some simple examples include
rainwater harvesting, groundwater recharge
and desalination.
Enabling Environment for Transition to a
Green Economy
As water intrinsically links several sectors,
without sucient water quantity and
quality, the development of other sectors
will be restricted. For this reason, water
management should be considered in
all stages of planning and development.
Achieving this would require:
Policy: One of the biggest impediments
in investing in water management

infrastructure has been the absence of
eective water governance. National water
resources policies that clearly articulate the
jurisdiction, roles and responsibilities of
institutions will support SIDS. In addition,
water resource management should be
factored into national economic development
and growth planning. This will ensure that
water resources are distributed with the aim of
providing maximum socio-economic benets
for the entire population.

Legislative and Regulatory Reform: A revision or
updating of water resource legislation should
include innovative and adaptive mechanisms
such as progressive billing to link payment of
the resource to its use.
Linking Production and Consumption (Supply and
Demand): Demand and consumption of water is
complicated by the notion that large segments
of the population are deemed to be below the
threshold for the imposition of a tari. This
has made imposing taris or implementing a
user-pay system dicult. Progressive billing
has, however, succeeded in reducing water
consumption whereby low volume users
pay a reduced fee up to a certain level, after
which the tari increases.
Sustainable Financing: Direct charges to
customers for water and sanitation services

are often insucient to cover operational
costs. Financing for implementation of a green
economy can be derived from a combination
public and private sector investment and
overseas development to bridge charges to
customers for water and sanitation services and
operational costs.
Capacity Building and Sharing: Reorganising
roles and responsibilities between agencies/
ministries will cater to a more eective use
of limited nancial and human resources
and areas of overlap can be integrated. By
promoting community involvement in water
management through the implementation
of green community-based projects, limited
human resources can be increased.
Box 1 Examples of Simple Water Management Technology implemented in SIDS
Rainwater Harvesting is widely practiced and encouraged in many SIDS as rainfall is quite regular. It is common
for households to incorporate rainwater storage tanks and cisterns to supplement their supplies at the household
level, which puts an onus on the individual to maintain the system in a safe state. This requires investment in
broad scale education and awareness-raising on the household level as well as on suitable technology.
Groundwater Recharge allows for the safe collection and transmission of rainwater into the underlying aquifer
and is appropriate for areas dependent on shallow rain fed groundwater supplies. This is common in Barbados
and Trinidad, where water extracted from recharged aquifers is often of an acceptable quality.
Desalination is a last resort option due to its high price (both from material investment and operational costs).
Despite technological advances (such as low pressure membrane technology), water obtained by reverse
osmosis remains the most expensive per litre option as a result of expensive equipment, maintenance and costly
imported fuel.
SIDSFOCUSED GREEN ECONOMY: AN ANALYSIS OF CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Synthesis Report

17
SIDS face a number of challenges in pursuit
of energy security and poverty reduction,
including high and rising oil prices, inadequate
policies and regulations, insucient promotion
and investment in renewable energy and
energy eciency; lack of nancing and
technology transfer.
Energy dependence is a major source of
vulnerability for many SIDS that have little or
no access to modern and aordable energy
sources. The dependence on imported
petroleum continues to cause severe
imbalances in trade, resulting in a serious
drain on limited national nancial resources.
Prices of petroleum products in SIDS are among
the highest in the world as uctuations in supply
and demand, along with the volatility of the global
oil market, as well as diculties in obtaining the
foreign exchange to pay for imported energy
resources, exert signicant pressure on SIDS’
economies. For example, in the Pacic SIDS,
prices of petroleum fuels are typically 200–300%
higher than international values.
In addition to the consumption of fossil fuel,
there are a number of SIDS, which remain
heavily dependent on traditional forms of
biomass-based energy
28
for cooking purposes.

This not only results in high emissions of carbon
dioxide but it is also a signicant contributor
to deforestation
29
, increased soil erosion,
loss of biodiversity, and reduced availability
of fresh water resources. Smoke makes meal
preparation hazardous to the health of the
household, particularly women and children.
As rural and urban low-income households
do not have access to alternative energy
sources, degradation of local, energy-providing,
ecosystem services make these populations
more vulnerable.
Many SIDS have drafted and adopted national
and regional energy policies and strategies
which seek to make use of their limited access
to renewable energy supplies such as solar,
wind, ocean, wave, geothermal, biomass
and hydropower and conserve the use of
energy resources, in order to minimise future
dependence on imported energy. The salient
tenets of the green economy concept, growth
in income and employment, are predicated
on an investment platform of reduced carbon
emission and pollution and an enhancement of
energy resources and eciency.
In the Pacic, the national energy policies of
Fiji and Vanuatu promote the production of
biofuels through planting on degraded lands.

Furthermore, in Fiji, Solomon Islands, Samoa
and Vanuatu hydropower is increasingly being
used for electricity production. In Barbados and
Antigua, the government has provided subsidies
to encourage the use of solar water heaters. In
Jamaica, Dominica and Haiti there is increasing
use of hydropower for electricity production.
More recently, commercial biomass has become
an important source of renewable energy
in many SIDS, mostly in the form of bagasse
coming from the production of sugarcane. For
28
This includes fuel wood from natural forests, coconut shells, husks and stem wood, residues from crops such as coee, cocoa.
29
UN. 2010. Trends in Sustainable Development: Small Island Developing States (SIDS). United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Aairs,
Division for Sustainable Development.
ENERGY
SIDSFOCUSED GREEN ECONOMY: AN ANALYSIS OF CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Synthesis Report
18
example, in Mauritius, approximately 15% of
the energy requirements of the island are being
met from bagasse. With emerging technologies
for converting waste to energy, many SIDS are
exploring the prospects of converting organic
waste into fertilisers and energy
30
.

The development of SIDS renewable

energy resources has been limited by the
availability of appropriate technology, weak
institutional mechanisms, and challenges of
developing systems for small, remote markets
at reasonable cost. In the case of the Caribbean,
renewable energy comprises a mere 3% of
the regional energy mix. While renewable
energy technologies have gotten cheaper, SIDS
face a series of challenges including technical
capacity, access to predictable low-cost
long-term nancing and a lack of appropriate
energy regulations
31
.
Enabling Environment for Transition to a
Green Economy
Since 1992, SIDS have invested billions in their
energy sector, very little of which has gone
into renewable energy, energy eciency
and conservation. For SIDS to successfully
make the transition to a green economy and
place themselves on the path to sustainable
development would require collective action of
an unprecedented manner. Recommendations
in this regard include:
SIDS-appropriate sustainable energy
technologies through technological expertise
and sharing mechanisms (e.g. SIDS DOCK)
will strengthen SIDS capacity in addressing
their energy constraints.

Strengthening a collective SIDS-wide or
regional policy approach to sustainable
energy development including aggregate
purchasing, collective approaches to
technology developers, collective approaches
to seeking investment nancing, and
coordinated strategies in research and
development will reduce investment costs
and achieve economies of scale.
If SIDS are to make the transition to a
green economy and achieve sustainable
development, they must nd a means
of reducing their dependence on and
importation of fossil fuel. Based on the
30
UN. 2010. Trends in Sustainable Development: Small Island Developing States (SIDS). United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Aairs,
Division for Sustainable Development.

31
Binger, A. 2009. Issues Paper on Key Energy Challenges and Their Effects on the Achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the
Caribbean Region: Possible United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Role in Addressing Such Challenges. Submitted to the UNDP-Trinidad
& Tobago Sub-Regional Centre.
Palau
56
30
10
5
Aruba
Antigua and Barbuda
Bahamas

Bahrain
Barbados
Belize
Cape
Verde
Comoros
Cook Islands
Cuba
Dominica
Dominican
Republic
Fiji
Grenada
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Haiti
Jamaica
Kiribati
Maldives
Marshall Islands
Mauritius
Micronesia
Nauru
Netherlands
Antilles
Papua
New Guinea
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
1.Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

The Low Elevation Coastal Zone
considered in this map is 10 metres
above sea level
Note:
1
Samoa
Sao Tome
and Principe
Seychelles
Singapore
Solomon Islands
Suriname
Tokelau
Tonga
Trinidad and To bago
Tuvalu
Virgin Islands
Vanuatu
Niue
more than 50%
Percentage
Tonnes per year
People living in Low
Elevation Coastal Zones
CO
2
Emissions per Capita
20% to 50%
10% to 20%
0.1% to 10%

Coutries not affected
No data
Small Island Developing States
NB: only values equals to or bigger
than 5 are shown
Sources: Nasa, 2009; Columbia University, Socioeconomic Data
and Application Center, Global-Rural Urban Mapping Project,
2008; UN-Habitat 2009, UNDP Statistical Database 2011.
Low Elevation Coastal Zones and CO2 Emissions
SIDSFOCUSED GREEN ECONOMY: AN ANALYSIS OF CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Synthesis Report
19
global experience, SIDS can derive signicant
benets from the development of renewable
energy resources, the implementation
of energy eciency and conservation
programmes and the commercialisation
of renewable energy technologies. While
energy ecient practices can have a signicant
impact on daily consumption of fuel, the seismic
shift required to achieve low carbon economic
growth will only be realised through the
combination of governmental interventions at
the policy, institutional and regulatory levels and
the ability to attract private sector investment.
Examination of energy-related policy and
legislation will be required with close attention
being paid to the following components:
• Policy and Legislation Reform: Only
a limited number of countries have an

appropriate legislative framework to
guide and meet policy objectives and
to administer and regulate the energy
sector. Governments are encouraged to
articulate energy policies that promote
the development of renewable energy
resources and synergies between sectors
which have signicant impact and inuence
on the energy sector, and to develop
the necessary legislation to regulate the
relevant operations.
• Subsidies: While some have argued
for the removal of subsidies in the
energy sector, it may be prudent to shift
some of those resources or incentive
schemes towards the use of, and
investment, in renewable technologies
and energy conservation.
• Taxes: Taxes can be used as an alternative
to or in combination with subsidies. As
an incentive for investment in renewable
energy, government could provide
tax relief (e.g. Solar Water Heaters in
Barbados) to homeowners to purchase
systems. Additionally, developers of
such technologies can benet from tax
exemptions from general energy taxes, or
for initial investments.
• Coordinating Mechanisms: Strengthen
coordination mechanisms that facilitate

information and exchange of experiences,
and that eectively advocate on behalf of
island states, to private sector technology
developers and managers of private
capital to attract technology and nancing
through mechanisms such as public-
private partnerships.

SIDSFOCUSED GREEN ECONOMY: AN ANALYSIS OF CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Synthesis Report
20
Waste management in SIDS, as in other
developing countries, is a growing
problem because of population growth,
urbanisation, changing consumption
patterns and the large numbers of tourists.
Most of the waste collected is disposed
of via sanitary landlling, as opposed to
recycling. This form of disposal represents
missed economic opportunities and creates
future challenges for SIDS due to the limited
availability of land, potential contamination of
surrounding ecosystems and the contribution
of decomposing garbage to the build-up of
greenhouse gases. Even where limited recycling
has been pursued, the absence of legal and
regulatory provisions for recycling and the
remoteness of markets and uctuating prices
limit the attractiveness and opportunities for
private sector involvement. Despite the limited

availability and reliability of waste generation
data, it is estimated that solid waste generation
rates in SIDS ranges from 0.75 -2.8kg/per capita
with organics comprising close to 50% of the
waste stream. Other identiable components
include plastics, paper, metal, textile and glass,
all of which have the potential to be diverted and
recycled. Given the small volumes of recyclables
and limited opportunities for recycling as well as
limited markets for recycled materials, much of
that waste is disposed of via landlling.
Enabling Environment for Transition to a
Green Economy
Greening the waste sector refers to a shift
from less-preferred waste treatment and
disposal methods such as incineration
(without energy recovery) and dierent
forms of landlling towards the “three Rs”:
Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. The strategy is
to move upstream in the waste management
hierarchy based on the internationally
recognised approach of Integrated Solid Waste
Management (ISWM)
32
.
Increasing recognition of value in waste and
a growing market for waste is a key driver
for the greening of the waste sector. With
that, technological advances both in reutilising
recycled products as well as in converting

waste materials into valuable products open
up signicant opportunities for job creation
and revenue generation. In several SIDS,
waste recycling, particularly scrap metal
33
and
plastics, have provided valuable employment
56
12
3
3
10
8
6
Glass
Pacific regional waste composition
Biodegradable
Percentage on total waste
Paper
Plastic
Source: Raji, 2000 (ASK C NEUMANN full reference)
Textiles
Glass
Metals
Others
WaSTE
32
UNEP. 2011. Towards a Green Economy: Pathways to Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication. www.unep.org/greeneconomy.
33
Trinidad Guardian. 2011. Scrap Metals: A billion Dollar Industry. September 15, 2011. www.guardian.co.tt/business-guardian/2011/09/15/scrap-

metals-billion-dollar-industry.
SIDSFOCUSED GREEN ECONOMY: AN ANALYSIS OF CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Synthesis Report
21
opportunities for thousands of persons. It is
anticipated that with proper management,
nancing and utilising the 3Rs principle, the
sector could generate substantial economic,
environmental and social benets for SIDS.
These benets include resource and energy
savings, compost production supporting
organic agriculture, energy production from
waste, reduced greenhouse gas emissions and
an overall contribution to poverty alleviation.
National Integrated Solid Waste Management
(ISWM) policies, strategies and action
plans with clear targets and indicators
are recommended, mainstreaming waste
management issues into national development
planning, This should be implemented through
an ISWM programme linking public health,
environmental protection, privatisation,
decentralisation and economic instrument
policies to the needs of the solid waste sector so
that they are mutually supportive. Institutional
strengthening and internal capacity building are
essential. Technical expertise to convert waste
into new products should be transferred with the
support of international donor organisations.
In mobilising investments to greening the

waste sector, governments need to adopt
cost recovery measures, especially those
based on the Polluter Pays Principle, which
would allow them to generate greater revenues
and increase their budgetary allocations to
the sector. International funding can be tapped
into, particularly from Certied Emission
Reductions and Micro-Credit Schemes to
initiate recycling enterprises.
Partnerships with the private sector have
the potential for reducing the scal pressure
while enhancing eciency of service
delivery. A scal environment should support
private sector engagement in the waste sector.
Waste avoidance can be supported by
applying economic incentives such as
deposit-schemes, fees on specic items
and recycling credits. Raising awareness and
providing education on the eects of waste
should be part of dedicated initiatives as well as
school curricula.
Considerable improvements have been
made in the last ten to fteen years in
management of municipal solid waste
(MSW) for many SIDS. In 1997, a consortium
of funding institutions (World Bank, Caribbean
Development Bank and the European Union)
nanced a comprehensive overhauling of waste
management programmes in several countries
of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean

States
34
, which included initiatives to:
• improve the coverage and eectiveness
of domestic solid waste collection and
disposal facilities;
• assist beneciary countries in the
establishment of appropriate legal and
institutional frameworks to enable eective
management and disposal of shore and
ship-generated waste;
• assist in the preparation of plans and
programmes to address the problems of
collection, treatment and disposal of liquid
wastes; and
• identify opportunities for reduction,
recovery and recycling of solid waste.
Several other Caribbean countries (Bahamas,
Belize and Jamaica) also embarked on a
similar upgrading of their policies, legislation,
regulatory controls and waste infrastructure.
This has resulted in very visible improvements
in the collection and disposal of waste and a
minimisation of the threats of environmental
pollution, particularly in coastal areas.
34
Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Most preferred
Least preferred
Disposal

Recovery
Recycle
Prevention
Reduction
Source: UNEP, Green Economy Report, 2011.
Waste management hierarchy
SIDSFOCUSED GREEN ECONOMY: AN ANALYSIS OF CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Synthesis Report
22
The primary challenge for many SIDS is
enhancing their prospects for economic
growth, while preserving their environment
and promoting social development. While
there may be some concerns as to the process
by which the green economy debate is
proceeding, the approach oers opportunities
to better manage natural resources and focus
on sustainable development. It is also critical
that the special circumstances of SIDS should
be given consideration when various principles,
policies and targets such as the transition to a
green economy are being developed.
Depending on a country’s development path,
needs, priorities, degree of vulnerabilities,
natural resources, ecosystems and the
services they provide, the plans and
strategies to promote a green economy
might vary. In this regard, there are also
important practical and political challenges,
which can make the creation of some enabling

conditions more or less realistic in the short to
medium-term.
Enabling Conditions
Several recommendations have been
presented for enabling the transition to a green
economy. Primarily among those conditions
is the revision of key areas of policy-making
to enable the right conditions that support a
green economy transition.
These areas include increasing public
investment and spending, developing
market-based instruments, and revising the
legislative and regulatory framework and
enhancing institutional capacities.
• In order for SIDS to create the conditions
required for a transition to a green economy,
the following specic measures can be
considered:
• articulation of clear transitional policy
instruments and the establishment of
CONClUSIONS
SIDSFOCUSED GREEN ECONOMY: AN ANALYSIS OF CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Synthesis Report
23
sound regulatory frameworks;
• coordination of policies across countries
(regional groups);
• identication of capacity-building
requirements, including sourcing of funds
to assist with and ease the transition to a

green economy; and
• regionalandinternationalco-operationand
support including in sharing knowledge
and good practices.
Integrated planning is also very important
to ensure decisions are aligned with the
objectives of a green economy. For SIDS
that lack nancial and human resources it
is imperative that funding mechanisms are
developed and made operational to facilitate
nancial and technical assistance in promoting
green activities.
The green economy concept has managed to
turn the focus of the international community
towards a new way to achieve sustainable
development, one that is targeted at a
greater involvement of the private sector, but
also premised on social equity and poverty
alleviation. Opportunities abound in the
transition to a green economy for SIDS and
a green growth road map pointing the way
forward, commitment to facilitating technology
transfer and nancial assistance could be a
useful strategy.
The risks, challenges, and opportunities,
presented by the Green Economy must be
carefully studied in the SIDS context given
the narrow margin for error in development
planning in SIDS. In this connection, for SIDS,
cost-benet analyses to ascertain the transition

costs versus the costs of doing business as
usual, should be undertaken. The development
and implementation of a green econovmy in
SIDS should be consistent with their respective
current sustainable development priorities.
SIDSFOCUSED GREEN ECONOMY: AN ANALYSIS OF CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Synthesis Report
24
In June 2012, Heads of State and Government
and high-level representatives met in Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil, with broad participation of civil
society, in the United Nations Conference on
Sustainable Development (Rio + 20). They
agreed on an outcome document under the
title “The Future we Want”. In that document
governments renewed their commitment to
sustainable development and to ensuring the
promotion of an economically, socially and
environmentally sustainable future for the
planet and for present and future generations.
The leaders of the world rearmed that
SIDS remain a special case for sustainable
development in view of their unique and
particular vulnerabilities. They expressed their
concern that, while SIDS have progressed in
the areas of gender, health, education and the
environment, their overall progress towards
achieving the Millennium Development Goals
has been uneven.
Rio + 20 called for continued and enhanced eorts

to assist SIDS in implementing the Barbados
Programme of Action and the Mauritius Strategy.
A call was also made for a strengthening of
United Nations System support to SIDS in
keeping with the multiple ongoing and emerging
challenges faced by these States in achieving
sustainable development. UNEP and UN DESA
are strongly committed to continue supporting
SIDS in their relevant areas of expertise.
A call was also made for the convening in 2014
of a third international conference on SIDS,
recognizing the importance of coordinated,
balanced and integrated actions to address
the sustainable development challenges facing
them. The General Assembly was invited to
determine the modalities of the conference at
its sixty-seventh session.
Governments considered green economy in
the context of sustainable development and
poverty eradication as one of the important
tools available for achieving sustainable
development and states that it could provide
options for policy making . They also emphasized
that it should contribute to eradicating poverty
as well as sustained economic growth,
enhancing social inclusion, improving human
welfare and creating opportunities for
employment and decent work for all, while
maintaining the healthy functioning of the
Earth’s ecosystems.

They acknowledged that green economy in
the context of sustainable development and
poverty eradication will enhance the ability
to manage natural resources sustainably and
with lower negative environmental impacts,
increase resource eciency and reduce waste.
The importance of governments taking a
leadership role in developing policies and
strategies through an inclusive and transparent
process was also underscored. And they
noted the eorts of those countries, including
developing countries, that have already
initiated processes to prepare national green
economy strategies and policies in support of
sustainable development.
Governments considered that innovative
nancing mechanisms can make a positive
contribution in assisting developing countries
SIDSFOCUSED GREEN ECONOMY: AN ANALYSIS OF CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Synthesis Report
25
to mobilize additional resources for nancing
for development.
Small scale sheries and aquaculture
Rio + 20 urged the identication and
mainstreaming of strategies by 2014 that
further assist developing countries, in particular
the least developed countries and SIDS, in
developing their national capacity to conserve,
sustainably manage and realize the benets

of sustainable sheries, including through
improved market access for sh products from
developing countries.
Governments committed to observe the need
to ensure access to sheries and the importance
of access to markets, by subsistence, small-
scale and artisanal sherfolk and women sh
workers, as well as indigenous peoples and
their communities, particularly in developing
countries, especially SIDS.
The signicant economic, social and
environmental contributions of coral reefs was
also recognised, in particular to islands and
other coastal States, as well as the signicant
vulnerability of coral reefs and mangroves to
impacts, including from climate change, ocean
acidication, overshing, destructive shing
practices and pollution.
Governments committed to intensify eorts
to meet the 2015 target as agreed to in the
Johannesburg Plan of Implementation to
maintain or restore stocks to levels that can
produce maximum sustainable yield on an
urgent basis. They also acknowledged that
illegal, unreported and unregulated shing
deprive many countries of a crucial natural
resource and remain a persistent threat to
their sustainable development. Therefore they
recommitted to prevent, combat and eliminate
these practices.

Tourism
Governments emphasized in Rio + 20 that well-
designed and managed tourism can make a
signicant contribution to the three dimensions
of sustainable development. Rio + 20 recognised
the need to support sustainable tourism
activities and relevant capacity building that
promote environmental awareness, conserve
and protect the environment, and improve the
welfare and livelihoods of local communities
by supporting their local economies and the
human and natural environment as a whole.
Rio + 20 also encouraged the promotion of
investment in sustainable tourism, including
eco-tourism and cultural tourism, which may
include creating small and medium sized
enterprises and facilitating access to nance,
including through microcredit initiatives for the
poor, indigenous peoples and local communities
in areas with high eco-tourism potential.
Water
Governments committed in Rio + 20 to the
progressive realization of access to safe and
aordable drinking water and basic sanitation
for all, as necessary for poverty eradication, and
to signicantly improve the implementation of
integrated water resource management at all
levels as appropriate.
The key role that ecosystems play in maintaining
water quantity and quality and support actions

within respective national boundaries to protect
and sustainably manage these ecosystems
was also recognised. Governments underlined
the need to adopt measures to address oods,
droughts and water scarcity, addressing the
balance between water supply and demand,
including, where appropriate, non-conventional
water resources, and to mobilize nancial
resources and investment in infrastructure for
water and sanitation services, in accordance
with national priorities.
Rio + 20 stressed the need to adopt measures
to signicantly reduce water pollution and
increase water quality, signicantly improve
wastewater treatment and water eciency and
reduce water losses.
Energy
There was recognition in Rio + 20 that
improving energy eciency, increasing the
share of renewable energy and cleaner and
energy-ecient technologies are important
for sustainable development, including
in addressing climate change. It was also
recognised that energy plays a critical role in the
development process, as access to sustainable
modern energy services contributes to poverty
eradication, saves lives, improves health and
helps provide for basic human needs. Emphasis
was given to the need to address the challenge
of access to sustainable modern energy services

for all, in particular for the poor, who are unable
to aord these services even when they are
available.
Governments rearmed support to the use of an
appropriate energy mix to meet developmental
needs, including through increased use of
renewable energy sources and other low-
emission technologies, the more ecient